john mccain was very passive. let the president, candidate obama do whatever he wants to do. mitt romney will not do that, and here's the strength tonight. >> here's the challenge. on the one hand mitt romney has to connect, needs a second look. has had a rough couple of weeks. everyone acknowledged that. needs to be specific about what a romney presidency would achieve. >> we're not talking about accomplishing a lot. two or three things in an hour and a half to accomplish. one of them is to show he's in command, understands the job of the presidency and put barack obama on the defensive given his horrific record on the economy and on national security, and i think he will do that. i think he will be tough with the president. i don't think the president will react particularly well to that because i don't think the president gets people who are very tough with him very often, and i think that interplay i think will be the key moment of the night. >> you see more people optimistic about the economy. you see the president's poll numbers improving with regard to handling the eco